Configuring puncture bundles of data for a first service in a transmission of a second service

ABSTRACT

A transmitting node determines data for a first service will be transmitted during a time period when data for a second service will be transmitted. The data for the first service requires lower latency than the data for the second service and the data for the first service includes an original set of data for the first service and at least one repetition of the original set of data for the first service. The transmitting node adjusts resources consumed by the data for the first service based on available transmission resources. During the time period the transmitting node then transmits the data for the first service using the adjusted resources while data for the second service is transmitted during the time period.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communications occur in an environment with unpredictableinterference and channel variations. HARQ (Hybrid Automatic RepeatRequest) is a common technique used to address the unpredictableinterference and channel variations. HARQ involves a wireless devicereceiving an uplink or downlink transmission to attempt to decode a datamessage in the transmission.

FIG. 1 is a signaling diagram of a conventional HARQ technique employedbetween transmitting node 105 and receiving node 110 in an LTE system.Initially, the transmitter 105 transmits up to two transport blocks in aTTI (Transmission Time Interval) to receiving node 110 (step 115). Anexample of this transmission is illustrated in FIG. 2 in which TTI₁includes two transport blocks and TTI₂ includes two transport blocks.Receiving node 110 then determines whether each of the two transportblocks was successfully received (step 120). Because LTE (Long TermEvolution) provides for up to two transport blocks per TTI, thereceiving node 110 transmits a HARQ-ACK (ACKnowledgement) consisting of2 bits, each bit indicating success or failure of a respective transportblock, to the transmitting node 105 (step 125).

The transmitter then determines, based on the value of the bits in theHARQ-ACK, whether one or more transport blocks were not successfullydecoded (step 130). If so, the transmitting node 105 transmits theunsuccessfully decoded transport block(s) to the receiving node 110(step 135). The receiving node 110 then attempts to decode theunsuccessfully decoded transport block by soft combining it with theretransmitted transport block (step 140). The type of soft combining canvary, and can involve the well-known Chase or Incremental Redundancysoft combining techniques. Soft combining greatly increases theprobability of successful decoding.

LTE, which is a standard in 3GPP family of wireless systems, is highlyoptimized for MBB (Mobile BroadBand) traffic. The TTI (subframe) hasduration of 1 ms and, for FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) the HARQ-ACKis transmitted in subframe n+4 for a data transmission in subframe n.

URLLC (Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication) is data service withextremely strict error and latency requirements, including errorprobabilities as low as 10⁻⁵ or lower and end-to-end latency or lower 1ms. Other services have similar error and latency requirements, such asthe so-called short TTI in LTE.

Although the fifth generation of mobile telecommunications and wirelesstechnology is not yet fully defined, it is in an advanced draft stagewithin 3GPP and includes work on 5G New Radio (NR) Access Technology.Accordingly, it will be appreciated that although LTE terminology isused in some portions of the disclosure, the disclosure equally appliesto equivalent 5G entities or functionalities despite the use ofterminology differing from what is specified in 5G. 3GPP TR 38.802V1.0.0 (2016 November) provides a general description of the currentagreements on 5G New Radio (NR) Access Technology and finalspecifications may be published inter alia in the future 3GPP TS 38.2**series.

MBB or eMBB (enhanced MBB) and URLLC are both among a wide range of dataservices being targeted for 5G. To enable services with an optimizedperformance, the TTI lengths are expected to be different for differentservices, wherein a TTI may correspond to a subframe, a slot, or amini-slot. Specifically, URLLC may have a shorter TTI length compared toMBB.

Accommodating both MBB and URLLC in the same network introducesconflicts due to the strict latency requirements of URLLC. Theseconflicts can result in problems decoding either or both of the MBB andURLLC data when the data needs to be transmitted at the same time.Although HARQ is a common way of addressing decoding problems,implementing HARQ in a network accommodating both MBB and URLLC can bedifficult due to the strict latency requirements of URLLC. Specifically,although conventional HARQ procedures can be implemented for the MBBdata, conventional HARQ procedures likely cannot meet the strict latencyrequirements of URLLC data.

SUMMARY

Exemplary aspects of the present disclosure are directed to methodimplemented in a transmitting node. The transmitting node determinesthat data for a first service will be transmitted during a first timeperiod when data for a second service will be transmitted. The data forthe first service requires lower latency than the data for the secondservice and the data for the first service includes an original set ofdata for the first service and at least one repetition of the originalset of data for the first service. The transmitting node adjustsresources consumed by the data for the first service based on availabletransmission resources. The transmitting node then transmits, during thefirst time period, the data for the first service using the adjustedresources while data for the second service is transmitted during thefirst time period.

Other aspects of the disclosure are directed to a transmitting node forcarrying out this method, as well as a computer-readable mediumcomprising code, which when executed by a processor, causes theprocessor to perform this method.

An aspect of the disclosure is directed to a method implemented in areceiving node. The receiving node receives a transmission during afirst period of time. The transmission includes data for a first serviceand data for a second service, wherein the data for the first servicerequires lower latency than the data for the second service. Thereceiving node then determines an arrangement of the data for the firstservice based on an indicator in the received transmission. Thereceiving node attempts to decode the data for the first service basedon the determined arrangement of data for the first service.

Other aspects of the disclosure are directed to a receiving node forcarrying out this method, as well as a computer-readable mediumcomprising code, which when executed by a processor, causes theprocessor to perform this method.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a signaling diagram of a conventional HARQ process;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of conventional transport block transmissions;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are block diagrams of exemplary punctured uplink anddownlink transmissions;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a punctured transmission with repeatedcontrol data and user data in accordance with exemplary embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a punctured transmission with a singlecontrol data transmission and repeated user data transmissions withoutfrequency hopping in accordance with exemplary embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a punctured transmission with a singlecontrol data transmission and repeated user data transmissions withfrequency hopping in accordance with exemplary embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of another punctured transmission with asingle control data transmission and repeated user data transmissionswith frequency hopping in accordance with exemplary embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a transmitter and receiver in accordancewith exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a high-level flow diagram of an exemplary transmission methodin accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of an exemplary transmission method inaccordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a high-level flow diagram of an exemplary reception method inaccordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of an exemplary reception method in accordancewith exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a high-level flow diagram of an exemplary transmission methodin accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram of an exemplary transmission method inaccordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a punctured transmission with resourcesremaining at the end of the transmission time period of the secondservice in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a punctured transmission spanning twotransmission intervals for the second service in accordance withexemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a frequency stacked punctured transmissionin accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a high-level flow diagram of an exemplary reception method inaccordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a punctured transmission in which thecontrol data for the first service for a number of receiving nodes isgrouped together and user data for the first service for the number ofreceiving nodes is grouped together in accordance with exemplaryembodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One way to accommodate both URLLC and MBB in the same network is toallow URLLC transmissions to puncture MBB transmissions, examples ofwhich are illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B. FIG. 3A illustrates a portion311 of the time-frequency resources of an uplink MBB transmission 310being punctured to a include an URLLC transmission, i.e., a URLLC uplinkcontrol signals portion 312 and a URLLC PUSCH (Physical Uplink SharedChannel) and uplink control signals portions 313. FIG. 3B illustrates aportion 321 of a downlink MBB transmission 320 being punctured toinclude an URLLC transmission, i.e., a PDCCH (URLLC Physical DownlinkControl Channel) and PDCCH DMRS (DeModulation Reference Signal) portion322 and a URLLC PDSCH and PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel) DMRSportion 323.

Although this puncturing allows provision of both MBB and URLLC in thesame network and allows URLLC transmissions to meet the strict timingrequirements, problems can arise in the decoding of the transmitteddata. Because MBB transmissions are less time sensitive (compared toURLLC), decoding problems can be addressed using HARQ in a number ofdifferent TTIs. For example, in LTE one TTI, which is one subframe, hasa duration of 1 ms and for FDD the data originally transmitted duringsubframe n is retransmitted in subframe n+4. In the LTE uplink the HARQretransmission timing is fixed and the HARQ retransmission processtypically takes 8 ms for each retransmission. This delay may beacceptable for MBB or eMBB because it is less time-sensitive. URLLC,however, is time sensitive and a retransmission separated from theoriginal transmission by up to 8 ms will likely result in theretransmitted data arriving too late for it to be used by the receiver.Accordingly, this conventional HARQ process cannot adequately supportURLLC in the same network as MBB. Although this discussion is inconnection with URLLC transmissions puncturing MBB transmission, thedisclosure is equally applicable to puncturing transmissions of a secondservice by transmissions of a first service, where the first service ismore time sensitive than the second service. In other words, the secondservice can still be time sensitive, it is just less time sensitive thanthe first service.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide ways to addressproblems of decoding transmissions for a first service requiring lowlatency in the same network that may simultaneously transmit for asecond service that does not have the low latency requirements as thefirst service. When a transmitter determines that it cannot adjusttransmission parameters, the transmitter can automatically activatepuncture bundling without the need for initial control signaling. Thepuncture bundling involves the transmission of the original data for thefirst service requiring low latency along with one or more repetitionsof the original data, which can be coded the same or differently fromthe original data, into the same TTI of data transmissions for a secondservice. In each case, the different redundancy versions or the repeatedsame redundancy version (RV) of the first service punctures thetransmissions of the second service. The data of the first service canbe punctured into one transport block (TB), two transport blocks, ormore than two transport blocks of the data for the second service.

Redundant transmissions of low latency data in a TTI carrying data for asecond service eliminates the waiting time between retransmissionsnormally required due to the transmission of a NACK (NegativeACKnowledgement) and the subsequent retransmission, which allows the lowlatency data to be successfully decoded while satisfying the latencyrequirements for the low latency data. This also provides signalingefficiency because it does not require control signaling to carry theNACK (or ACK for successfully decoded data) and provides robustness dueto the repetition of data for the low latency service within a TTI of asecond service.

FIGS. 4-7 are block diagrams of punctured transmissions with redundancyfor low latency data in accordance with exemplary embodiments of thepresent disclosure. In these examples the original data for the firstservice and each of the repetitions can be replicas of each other, i.e.,the same data coded in the same manner, or the data in each puncturedportion can be different versions of each other, i.e., coded differentlybut carrying the same underlying control and user data that can berecovered after decoding. In the latter case the coding can be takenfrom a coding list of (0, 3, 2, 1), in which the numbers correspond toredundancy versions that will be used in incremental combining, and ifthere are more than four repetitions the additional repetitions startagain from the beginning of the coding list.

The transmission in FIG. 4 is a single TTI 400 for the second service,which does not have strict latency requirements, punctured four times bydata for the first service, which has strict latency requirements.Specifically, the data for the first service includes an originaltransmission 405 of control data, which in this example is URLLCPDCCH+PDCCH DMRS, and user data, which in this example is URLLCPDSCH+PDSCH DMRS. The data for the first service also includes threerepetitions 410 a-410 n, each of which includes control data, which inthis example is URLLC PDCCH+PDCCH DMRS, and user data, which in thisexample is URLLC PDSCH+PDSCH DMRS. Although FIG. 4 illustrates anoriginal transmission and three repetitions, the transmission caninclude a more or fewer repetitions than what is illustrated. Thespacing between the original transmission and the first repetition, aswell as the spacing between repetitions can be f, which can be greaterthan or equal to zero. In other words, although a time gap isillustrated in this Figure, the original transmission 405 andrepetitions 410 a-410 n can be directly adjacent to each other in time.

The transmission in FIG. 5 is a single TTI 500 for the second service,which does not have strict latency requirements, punctured by data forthe first service, which has strict latency requirements. In thisexample the original transmission 505 includes both control data, whichin this example is URLLC PDCCH+PDCCH DMRS, and user data, which in thisexample is URLLC PDSCH+PDSCH DMRS. In contrast to the example of FIG. 4,in the example of FIG. 5 the control data is not retransmitted and onlythe user data is retransmitted 510 a-510 n. Further, the originaltransmission and repetitions are directly adjacent to each other in timeand in the frequency the original transmission and repetitions do notoccupy all of the frequency resources at a particular time within theTTI 500 and extends outside of the frequency resources used for the TTI500.

The example in FIG. 5 does not employ frequency hopping for thetransmission for the first service. In contrast, the example in FIG. 6employs frequency hopping for the first service. Otherwise, the exampleof FIG. 6 is the same as that of FIG. 5, i.e., the original control datais not retransmitted but the user data is and the original transmissionand repetitions are directly adjacent to each other so that there isonly a single punctured portion. Thus, in FIG. 6 the TTI 600 for thesecond service includes a single punctured portion having the originaltransmission 605 and one or more repetitions 610 a-610 n. Activating ordeactivating frequency hopping can be configured by a higher layerparameter or carried by a field in the Downlink Control Information(DCI), which is carried by the PDCCH of the first service.

The transmission in FIG. 7, like the example in FIG. 6, employsfrequency hopping, and like the examples in both FIGS. 5 and 6 theoriginal control data is not retransmitted but the user data is and theoriginal transmission and repetitions are directly adjacent to eachother so that there is only a single punctured portion. However, in thisexample the original transmission 705 and the one or more repetitions710 a-710 n are contained within the frequency resources allocated tothe TTI 700.

Although FIGS. 4-7 illustrate the usage of particular time-frequencyresources for the punctured data, other time-frequency resources can beused. In the example of FIG. 4, the redundant transmissions can all bedirectly adjacent to one another in time and directly adjacent to theoriginally transmitted data instead of interleaving data for the secondservice between the redundant transmissions. In the examples of FIGS.5-7 the original and redundant transmission for the low latency servicecan be interleaved in time with transmissions for the second servicesimilar to the illustration in FIG. 4.

Furthermore, the number of redundant transmissions can deviate from theillustrated examples and the present disclosure can be implemented usinga fewer or greater number of redundant transmissions. Finally, theparticular amount of time resources and/or frequency resources used forthe original transmission and the repetitions for the low latencyservice can be greater or less than what is illustrated in FIGS. 4-7.

Prior to describing the details of the methods performed by atransmitting and receiving node to support the puncturing illustrated inFIGS. 4-7, a high-level description of an exemplary transmitting nodeand receiving node will be presented in connection with FIG. 8 to assistthe reader in understanding the details of the implementation of theprocesses of the present disclosure that follows. As illustrated, atransmitting node 805 can transmit information to a receiving node 850,and the receiving node 850 can transmit information to the transmittingnode 805. In order to accomplish this, the transmitting node 805includes a processor 815 coupled to a transceiver 810 and memory 820;and the receiving node 850 includes a processor 860 coupled to atransceiver 855 and memory 865. Transceivers 810 and 855 respectivelyprovide the transmitting node 805 and the receiving node 850 with awireless interface. Processors 815 and 860 can be any type of processor,such as a microprocessor, application specific integrated circuit(ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA), and/or the like.

Memory 865 includes a HARQ buffer 870, which is used to store differenttransmissions for soft combining. Memory 820 and 865 can be any type ofmemory and can include both transitory and non-transitory memory. Thenon-transitory memory can include code, which when executed by theassociated processor, causes the processor to perform the methodsdescribed herein. The non-transitory memory can include acomputer-readable medium storing the code. Although FIG. 8 illustratesthe use of transceivers, separate transmitters and receivers can beprovided, depending upon implementation. FIG. 8 is a high-levelillustration of a transmitting node 805 and receiving node 850 and thoseskilled in the art will recognize that each can include additionalcomponents, such as input devices, interfaces to other devices, one ormore antennas, one or more displays, etc.

Although the discussion below assumes the transmitting node 805 is abase station (e.g., an eNB, a gNB, or any other type of base station)and the receiving node 850 is a UE (user equipment), the disclosure canalso be employed where the transmitting node 805 is a UE and thereceiving node 850 is a base station. In this case the transmission ofthe data for the first and second services involves transmissions fromat least two UEs, i.e., one of the UEs transmits data for the firstservice and another UE or a plurality of other UEs transmit data for thesecond service during the TTI. The transmission by the one UE of datafor the first service can be coordinated with the transmissions by theother UEs for the second service so that there is no, or minimal,overlap in time and/or frequency. Uncoordinated transmission can also beemployed so that the transmission by the one UE of data for the firstservice overlaps in time and/or frequency with transmission by at leastone of the other UEs.

A method performed by a transmitting node 805 will first be presented inconnection with the high-level flow chart of FIG. 9, and then thedetails will be addressed in connection with the description of FIG. 10.Initially the transmitting node 805 determines that data for a firstservice will be transmitted during a time period when data for a secondservice will be transmitted, where data for the first service requireslower latency than data for the second service (step 905). Thetransmitting node 805 then determines transmission or receptionconditions (step 910) and based on the determined transmission orreception conditions determines to adjust the transmission of the firstservice (step 915). As discussed in detail below, these adjustments canbe adjusting transmission power, modulation, and/or coding, as well asemploying puncture bundling. For purposes of explanation only, it willbe assumed in this example that the transmission adjustment includes atleast the use of puncture bundling. Accordingly, the transmitting node805 transmits, during the time period, data for the first service whiledata for the second service is transmitted, and the adjustment involvesincluding an original set of data for the first service and at least onerepetition of the original set of data for the first service (step 920).

Turning now to the flowchart of FIG. 10, the processor 815 of thetransmitting node 805 initially, via the transceiver 810, receives datafor a low latency service for transmission during a time period fortransmission of data for a second, non-low latency service (step 1005).The processor 815 of transmitting node 805 then determines whether thetransmission and/or reception conditions are acceptable (step 1010).This determination can be based on any number of factors, includingSignal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), Signal-to-Interference Ratio (SIR), BlockError Rate (BLER), etc. Further, information used for making thisdetermination can be obtained using conventional feedback techniques forreporting transmission/reception conditions to the transmitting node.

If processor 815 determines the conditions are acceptable (“Yes” pathout of decision step 1010), then processor punctures the secondtransmission with a single instance of the data for the low latencyservice and transmits the data for both the first and second servicesusing transceiver 810 (step 1015). This puncturing can take a formsimilar to what is illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B (depending uponwhether the transmitting node is a base station or UE). The puncturingdoes not have to occupy the same time and/or frequency resourcesillustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B and the data for the first servicepunctured into the data for the second service in different time and/orfrequency locations than what is illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B. Thesignificance of this transmission is that it does not include anyredundancy for the data of the first service in the transmission.Further, as discussed above, if the transmitting node is a base stationthen there will be minimal or no overlap between the data beingtransmitted for the first and second services, whereas if thetransmitting node is a UE there may be overlap in time and/or frequency.

If the processor 815 of transmitting node 805 determines thetransmission and/or reception conditions are not acceptable (“No” pathout of decision step 1010), then processor 815 determines whethertransmission adjustments are available to support the low latencyservice (step 1020). Transmission adjustments can include increasingtransmission power, changing modulation and/or coding, etc. If there aretransmission parameter adjustments available (“Yes” path out of decisionstep 1020) then the transmitting node transmits the data for the lowlatency service punctured in the transmission of the data for the secondservice using the adjusted transmission parameters via transceiver 810(step 1025).

Situations can occur where the transmitting node 805 is alreadytransmitting at maximum power or has already employed the most robustmodulation and/or coding, and thus transmission adjustments would not beavailable. These situations can occur, for example, when the UE is atthe edge of the base station's cell, when coverage is spotty due to theuse of high frequencies, and when there is unwanted interference. Inthese and other similar situations no transmission adjustments areavailable but due to the strict latency requirements of the firstservice it is still necessary for the transmitting node to attempt toprovide this data to the receiving node 850, which in the presentdisclosure is achieved by transmitting the original data for the firstservice and one or more redundant versions of the original data for thefirst service in a single transmission, e.g., a single TTI of the secondservice.

If transmission parameter adjustments are not available to support thelow latency service (“No” path out of decision step 1020), thenprocessor 815 decides to transmit the data for the first service usingpuncture bundling. Specifically, the processor 815 punctures theoriginal transmission and one or more repetitions of the originaltransmission for the first service into a transmission for the secondservice (step 1030). This can be achieved using any of the examplesdiscussed above in connection with FIGS. 4-7, as well as variationsthereof. Thus, depending upon implementation, the one or morerepetitions may contain both the control data and user data or cancontain only the user data.

According to exemplary embodiments the transmitting node 805 canexplicitly signal the presence of the puncture bundling in the TTI, thereceiving node 850 can perform blind detection, and/or the receivingnode 850 can be preconfigured using separate signaling to facilitateblind detection.

The explicit indicator can be implemented in a variety of differentways. The explicit indicator can be a Puncturing Bundle Indicator (PBI)that is included in the transmission of the original data for the firstservice but not in the repetitions for the first service. This allowsthe receiving node to distinguish between the transmission of theoriginal data for the first service from the repetitions so that thereceiving node can perform soft combining using the transmission of theoriginal data and one or more of the repetitions. Alternatively, the PBIcan be sent from a control channel, which can be carried in a mini-slot.The PBI can also carry information on the next punctured resourceblocks, such as time/OFDM symbol/slot offset, PRB— (Physical ResourceBlock) offset, or sequences of such information for each puncture bundletransmission to assist the receiving node to find the receivedtransmissions for the first service.

The explicit indicator can also include information about the size ofthe punctured data for the first service, i.e., the size of the data forthe original transmission for the first service and all of therepetitions within a TTI for the second service. This size information,referred to herein as PUNCTURE_BUNDLE_SIZE, can be calculated based onthe transport block (TB) size of the transmission for the secondservice, the URLLC transport block size, channel conditions, etc. ThePUNCTURE_BUNDLE_SIZE can be equal to the amount of the originaltransmission for the first service and the repetitions, which in theexample of FIG. 4 would be 4. Thus, the original transmission of thedata for the first service and the repetitions resulting from a singleRadio Link Control (RLC) Service Data Unit (SDU) are transmittedconsecutively in the same TTI for the second service and has a HARQprocess number 0.

The explicit indicator can further comprise information informing thereceiving node 850 of how the data for the first service was puncturedinto the TTI of the second service, coding schemes of the transmissionof the original data for the first service and the repetitions, and sizeinformation similar to the PUNCTURE_BUNDLE_SIZE information. Thisinformation, referred to herein as a punctureBundlingField. In oneembodiment this information can be included in both the originaltransmission of the data for the first service and the repetitions tohandle problems with misdetection of the puncture indicator, such aswhen the original transmission of the data for the first service and/orone or more of the repetitions were not received by the receiving node850, and thus the receiving node 850 cannot rely upon the amount of theoriginal transmission and repetitions. Thus, for example, if receivingnode 850 did not receive the original transmission of the data for thefirst service and the first repetition but has detected the secondrepetition, the receiving node 850 can decode the second repetition andany further repetition (in which case soft combining can be performed).Further, the receiving node 850 can examine portions of the transmissionreceived earlier to try to decode the original transmission of data forthe first service and the first repetition.

The PBI can be used by itself, in combination with thePUNCTURE_BUNDLE_SIZE, in combination with the PUNCTURE_BUNDLE_SIZE andthe punctureBundlingField, as well as in combination with anyinformation related to puncturing, punctured areas, and/or codingschemes.

In addition or as an alternative to providing an explicit indicator, thetransmitting node 805 can configure the receiving node 850, for examplevia Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, a MAC (Medium Access Control)CE (Control Element), or other similar messaging, to preconfigure thesemi-static regulation of the next transmitted resources, such as theresources using the same PRB and the earliest possible OFDM symbols,etc. Alternatively or additionally, this messaging can initiallypreconfigure the frequency hopping pattern and the PBI can correspond toa frequency hopping pattern index or can revoke the frequency hopping.

Blind detection of the puncture bundling can be implemented in a way toincrease the ability of the receiving node 850 to recognize the puncturebundling. For example, the transmission of the original data for thefirst service and each of the repetition can employ the same redundancyversion, i.e., each are coded in the same manner, within a predefinedtime window. Thus, the processor 860 of receiving node 850 can detectthe puncture bundling by the sequence of QAM (Quadrature AmplitudeModulation) symbols of the original transmission for the first dataservice and the repetitions having the same signal values after channelequalization. Thus, the punctured area includes a repetitive pattern sothe processor 860 of the receiving node 850 can perform correlationbased on signal processing to estimate the presence of a puncturebundled transmission in terms of transport block lengths and bundlingnumber within a predefined time window, such as a sub-frame slot of thesecond service. Another advantage to using the same redundancy versionsfor the transmission of the original data for the first service and theone or more repetitions is that the signal can be combined at the QAMsymbol level, which reduces receiving complexity while also achievingthe bundling gain.

The assisted blind detection can provide the receiving node 850 withreconfiguration information to specify parts or almost all of thebundling parameters that can be used. The reconfiguration information issent separately from the transmission of the data for the first service,such as in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message or other L1/L2 (layer1 or layer 2) signaling message. Notification of the potential presenceof puncture bundling can be achieved by transmitting a semi-persistentchange instruction to receiving nodes 850 that are using the firstservice.

Returning to FIG. 10, if an explicit indicator is employed then it isincluded in the punctured TTI in the manner described above (step 1035).If an explicit indicator is not supported this step is omitted.Processor 815 of transmitting node 805 then transmits the punctured TTIusing transceiver 810 to receiving node 850 (step 1040). Thetransmission of the punctured TTI will vary depending upon whether thetransmitting node 805 is a base station or a UE. When the transmittingnode 805 is the base station, the transmission of the TTI can includedata for both the first and second services. Although the same couldoccur when the transmitting node 805 is a UE, the more likely scenariois the UE transmits only the data for the first service and one or moreother UEs transmit the data for the second service, all of which occurduring a TTI of the second service.

At some point after the receiving node 850 receives and attempts todecode the TTI the receiving node 850 will transmit HARQ feedback, i.e.,an ACK or NACK, for the first service (step 1045) to the transmittingnode 805. According to exemplary embodiments the HARQ feedback is asingle message for the puncture bundle, i.e., the transmission of theoriginal data for the first service and all repetitions within thepuncture bundle. In contrast, conventional HARQ techniques involveseparate HARQ feedback for the originally transmitted data and eachrepetition. Thus, the puncture bundling of the present disclosure notonly helps achieve the strict latency requirements of the first servicebut also reduces overhead signaling by eliminating at least one, andpossibly more depending upon the number of repetitions in a puncturebundle, HARQ feedback transmission. The reduced signaling increases airinterface efficiency by reducing the number of radio resources consumedto support HARQ, as well as reduces interference that may be caused bythe additional HARQ feedback transmissions.

A method performed by a receiving node 850 will first be presented inconnection with the high-level flow chart of FIG. 11, and then thedetails will be addressed in connection with the description of FIG. 12.Initially the receiving node 850 receives a transmission during a timeperiod corresponding to a transmission of data for the second service(step 1105) and determines the received transmission includes data forthe first and second services (step 1110). The receiving node 850 thendetermines the received transmission includes an original set of datafor the first service and at least one repetition of the original set ofdata for the first service (step 1115) and the receiving node attemptsto decode the data for the first service using the original set of dataalone or in combination with one or more repetition of the at least onerepetition of the original set of data for the first service (step1120).

Turning now to FIG. 12, the processor 860 of receiving node 850initially receives, via transceiver 855, a transmission of a TTI for thesecond service (step 1205). The processor 850 then determines whetherthe received transmission was punctured with data for the first service(step 1210). This determination can be performed in a number ofdifferent ways. For example, a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) bitmap canbe used to indicate code blocks transmitted after the punctured part,such that in one example a CRC=00000 is used for code blocks preceding apunctured code block and a CRC=01000 can be used to indicate code blocksfollowing a punctured code block. In another example the transmittingnode 805 can provide a blanking assignment to the receiving node 850,such as assigning the transmission for the first service using the DCIwith a CRC bitmap matching the RNTI (Radio Network Temporary Identity)of the intended receiving node 850 for the scheduled URLLC transmission.The transmitting node 805 could also include a blanking indicator in theTTI, which indicates that at least a portion of the time-frequencyresources for the second transmission is punctured. For example, thereceiving node 850 can be configured via an RRC message to detectpuncturing if a specific reference signal is detected, for example anURLLC PDCCH DMRS. In yet another example the receiving node 850 canblindly detect the presence of punctured data, such as by comparing twoseparate transmissions of the second service in order to generate ahypothesis of which of the separate transmissions were punctured.

If the processor 860 determines there is no puncturing of the TTI forthe second service (“No” path out of decision step 1210), then processor860 attempts to decode the data of the transmission for the secondservice (step 1215). If the processor 860 determines there is puncturing(“Yes” path out of decision step 1215), then processor 860 determinesthe location of the transmission of the original data for the firstservice and the repetitions (step 1220). The manner in which thereceiving node 850 determines the location of the data for the firstservice depends upon whether the network implements an explicitindicator, blind detection, or assisted blind detection, each of whichcan be implemented in the manner described above.

The processor 860 of receiving node 850 then attempts to decode theoriginal transmission of the data for the first service (step 1225). Ifthe decoding was successful (“Yes” path out of decision step 1230), thenthe processor 860 discards the repetitions because they were not neededto decode the data for the first service (step 1235). Whether or notdecoding is successful can be based on conventional techniques, such asby checking the CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check).

If the decoding was not successful (“No” path out of decision step1230), then the processor 860 attempts to decode using the transmissionof the original data for the first service and one or more of therepetitions (step 1240). This can be an iterative process where theprocessor 860 first attempts to decode using the original data and afirst repetition and if this is not successful the processor 860attempts to decode using the original data and the first and secondrepetitions, etc. If the processor 860 successful decodes the data forthe first service (“Yes” path out of decision step 1245), then theprocessor 860 discards any unused repetitions and sends a single HARQfeedback for the original transmission and the repetitions indicatingsuccessful decoding (step 1250). If the processor 860 did notsuccessfully decode the data for the first service using the originaltransmission and all of the repetitions (“No” path out of decision step1245), then the processor 860 discards the original transmission andrepetitions and sends a single HARQ feedback for the originaltransmission and the repetitions indicating a decoding failure (step1255). Depending upon implementation, the transmitting node 805 canattempt to retransmit the data for the first service, either as only theoriginal data or along with one or more repetitions, assuming theretransmission can satisfy the strict latency requirements of the firstservice.

The discussion above addressed some aspects of puncture bundling,including a high-level overview of various configurations of puncturebundles. A more detailed discussion of configuring puncture bundles willnow be presented in connection with FIGS. 13-19.

FIG. 13 is a high-level flow diagram of an exemplary transmission methodin accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.Initially the processor 815 of the transmitting node 805 determines thedata for the first service will be transmitted during a time period whendata for a second service will be transmitted (step 1305). The data forthe first service requires lower latency than the data for the secondservice and the data for the first service includes an original set ofdata for the first service and at least one repetition of the originalset of data for the first service. The processor 815 then adjusts theresources consumed by the data for the first service based on availabletransmission resources (step 1310). As discussed in detail below, thisadjustment can include filling-in the remaining resources of the TTI forthe second service with the data for the first service or reducing thesize of the puncture bundle, for example by including less than thenumber of repetitions of the original data than intended. The processor815 then transmits, during the time period, the data for the firstservice using the adjusted resources while data for the second serviceis transmitted during the time period (step 1315).

Turning now to FIG. 14, when the transmitting node 805 has data totransmit for the first service the processor 815 initially determineswhether a new transport format is configured (step 1405). According toexemplary embodiments the physical layer transport format ispreconfigured before the start of the transmission of data for the firstservice and is changed upon receipt of new transport format signaling.Accordingly, if a new transport format was signaled (“Yes” path out ofdecision step 1405), the transmitting node 805 uses the new transportformat (step 1410). Otherwise the transmitting node 805 continues to usethe preconfigured transport format (step 1415).

Once the transmitting node decides to use the new or preconfiguredtransport format, the processor 815 determines whether there aresufficient resources within the TTI for the second service toaccommodate the data for the first service (step 1420). This may occurif the puncture bundle is to be transmitted in the later part of the TTIfor the second transmission there may not be sufficient resources toaccommodate both the original transmission and each of the repetitionsof the original transmission for the first service. For example this canoccur if each transmission for the first service occupies two symbols,the puncture bundling involves the original data and three repetitions(i.e., 4 mini-slots occupying 8 symbols), the TTI for the second serviceis 14 symbols, and the puncturing occurs after the 7^(th) symbol of theTTI, then the transmission for the first service occupies 8 symbols butat the point of insertion of the puncture bundle there would only be 7symbols available.

If there are sufficient resources for all transmissions of the firstservice (“Yes” path out of decision step 1420), then the transmittingnode will include all of the transmissions for the first service in theTTI for the second service (step 1425). Situations can also occur inwhich there are available resources following the puncture bundle, anexample of which can be seen in FIG. 15. FIG. 15 illustrates that withina TTI 1500 of the second service, an original transmission for the firstservice 1505 and two repetitions 1510 a, 1510 b are punctured. In thisexample resource area 1515 represents a portion of the TTI for thesecond service between the end of the puncture bundle mini-slot.Depending upon implementation this resource area 1515 may not be largeenough to accommodate data for the second service, and thus theseresources could be entirely wasted.

One way to avoid this is to delay the starting point of the puncturebundle so that the end of the puncture bundle lines-up with the end ofthe slot boundary 1525 of the TTI 1500 for the second service. Anotheralternative can involve employing a lower coding rate for the repetitionclosest to the slot boundary 1525 so that this repetition fills thegaps. The Puncture Bundling Indicator discussed above can be used toexplicitly indicate the coding format used for each original andrepetition of the data for the first service. Yet another alternative isto shorten the length of the last repetition so that it fits within theremaining time of the TTI for the second service. For example, the lastrepetition for the first service can use a mini-slot length of onesymbol instead of the two symbols used for the regular mini-slots.According to yet another alternative the mini-slot length can beincreased for more than one of the original transmission and repetitionsof the data for the first service. For example, if there are nineremaining OFDM symbols and the amount of the original transmission andthe repetitions is three (i.e., one original transmission and tworepetitions), then three OFDM symbols can be allocated each mini-slot.

Another alternative is to repeat one or more of the originaltransmission and/or the repetitions to fill the remaining resources inthe TTI. For example, if there are resources sufficient for an amountequal to one original transmission and five repetitions but the data forthe first service was initially configured for one original transmissionand three repetitions, then two additional transmission can occur (whichcan include the original and/or one or more of the repetitions). If theoriginal transmission and each of the repetitions are formatted andcoded in the same manner than the two additional transmissions can bethe same both the original transmission and the repetitions (e.g., RV0,RV0, RV0, RV0, RV0, RV0, RV0, RV0). If the original transmission and/orone or more of the repetitions are formatted or coded differently thentwo of the original and/or repetition can be repeated (e.g., RV0, RV1,RV2, RV3, RV0, RV1). Depending upon the formatting of the TTI for thesecond service, the added repetitions can be spared out in differentareas of the TTI to accommodate sensitive information bits or controlchannels of the data for the second service. Further, each puncturedarea contains at least one RV (Redundancy Version) or an RVG (RedundancyVersion Group), which might include one RV or more RVs. The RV(s) aretypically associated with a transport block of the data for the firstservice. In rare situations in which the TBS (transport block size) islarge, e.g., TB_(SURLLC)>8192 bit, and incurs code block segmentation,the repetition and the associated RV can be related with a CBG (CodeBlock Group).

Before returning to FIG. 14, it should be noted that the formatting ofthe data for the first service in FIG. 15 differs from the earlierillustrations in that in FIG. 15 the control data for the first serviceoccupies only a portion of the frequency bandwidth of the TTI for thesecond service and the remaining portion of the frequency bandwidth isallocated for the corresponding user data for the first service. Thisformatting can also be employed with the embodiments discussed above.

Returning to FIG. 14, if there are insufficient resources for alltransmissions for the first service (“No” path out of decision step1420), then the processor 815 adjusts the transmission of the firstservice to accommodate the insufficient resources (step 1430). One wayto adjust the transmission is to reduce the number of repetitions sothat the total of the original transmission and the repetitions would belimited to n when n+1 would extend over the boundary of the TTI. Thenumber n need not be preconfigured but can be dynamically extracted fromthe starting point of the puncturing (puncture bundlingstart-mini-slot), the end location of the mini-slot (puncture bundlingend-mini-slot), and the duration of the mini-slot transmission, all ofwhich can be included in the Puncture Bundle Indicator.

When the receiving node 850 is unable to successfully decode the datafor the first service due to the reduced amount of transmissions andrepetition of the data for the first service (e.g., when the availableresources only allow for an original transmission and one repetition),the remaining repetition can be scheduled in granted-based manner (i.e.,the normal HARQ procedure) to allow for successful decoding. Grant-basedscheduling can also be employed if the original transmission and/or oneor more of the repetitions was corrupted or missing (e.g., incontention-based puncturing of resources).

Once the transmission of the data for the first service is formatted forthe available resources (step 1425 or 1430), the processor 815 adds thePuncture Bundle Indicator (step 1435). As discussed above, the PunctureBundle Indicator can include a value for puncture bundlingstart-mini-slot to identify the starting point of the puncturing and avalue for puncture bundling end-mini-slot to identify, the end locationof the mini-slot. The Puncture Bundle Indicator and also include a valuefor punctured eMBB area ID start-mini-slot, punctured eMBB area-IDend-mini-slot, and the duration of the mini-slot duration, which allowsfor separately identifying the puncturing occurring within a TTI of thesecond service and puncturing occurring over more than one TTI.Separately identifying the start and end of the puncture bundlingmini-slot and the punctured eMBB area mini-slot is useful when there aremultiple punctured TTIs for the second service. An example of this willnow be described in connection with FIG. 16.

In FIG. 16 the boundaries of the TTIs for the second service (alsoreferred to as slot boundaries) are labeled 1625. Thus, FIG. 16illustrates a first TTI (i.e., the first slot) including an originaltransmission of data for the first service 1605 and two repetitions ofdata for the first service 1610 a, 1610 b, and a second TTI (i.e., themth slot) including an original transmission of data for the firstservice 1615 and two repetitions 1620 a, 1620 b. As illustrated, thefirst TTI for the second service is designated as punctured eMBB area-l1660 and also as the punctured bundling start-slot: l 1665 and the finalpunctured TTI for the second service is designated as punctured eMBBarea-k 1660 and punctured bundling end-slot m 1675. Thus, the start andend of the puncture bundling slot covers more than one TTI, whereas eachpunctured eMBB area corresponds to a TTI. Accordingly, the beginning ofthe original transmission 1605 in the first TTI corresponds to thepuncture bundling start mini-slot 1630 and the end of the lastrepetition 1620 b corresponds to the puncture bundling end mini-slot1650. In contrast, the punctured eMBB area-l start mini-slot 1635 andthe punctured eMBB area-l end mini-slot 1640 define the punctured areawithin the first TTI and the punctured eMBB area-k start mini-slot 1645and the punctured eMBB area-k end mini-slot 1655 define the puncturedarea within the second TTI. In other words, the puncture bundlingstart/end mini-slot is defined for the first service and the puncturedeMBB area-l start/end mini-slot is defined for the second service.Because there could be multiple punctured areas in one slot, thepunctured bundling end-slot number m could be less than the area ID k.

Returning again to FIG. 14, after adding the Puncture Bundle Indicator(step 1435), the processor 815 of the transmitting node 805 determineswhether the resource blocks of the second service are large enough toaccommodate two or more transmissions for the first service (step 1440).If the resource blocks are large enough (“Yes” path out of decision step1440), then the original transmission of data for the first service andthe one or more repetitions can be frequency stacked (step 1445). FIG.17 illustrates an exemplary frequency stacking in which an originaltransmission 1705 and one repetition 1710 c are aligned in time andstacked in frequency and two repetitions 1710 a and 1710 d are alignedin time and stacked in frequency within the TTI of the second service.The area 1715 with unused resources for the first service can beoccupied by the data for the first service using any of the adjustmenttechniques described above.

The particular arrangement of the original transmission and therepetitions can be preconfigured, for example in RVGs such as beginningfrom lower to higher frequency and then in time. Due to the limitedpower of the UE, frequency domain stacking will typically be implementedonly in the downlink from the base station to the UE. Moreover, in theuplink a power splitting in the frequency domain by frequency stackingmay not substantially outperform a non-frequency stacked transmission,and accordingly for in the uplink repetitive transmissions over time maybe more beneficially to quality enhancement for the uplink.

The frequency stacking illustrated in FIG. 17 is merely exemplary andother variations are within the scope of the disclosure. For example,uplink and downlink transmissions can be frequency stacked and/or thetransmission of control data can be frequency stacked with thetransmission of user data.

One variation of the frequency stacking is to encode the data for thefirst service with a low coding rate. The encoded bits are then formedinto modulation symbols, which are then mapped to a frequency resourcein the OFDM symbol(s). The frequency resources are typically representedby a set of resource elements that can carry data. The data carryingresource elements may be contiguous in the frequency domain as much aspossible or the data carrying resource elements distributed in thefrequency domain to achieve frequency diversity. For example, thefrequency domain bundling illustrated in FIG. 17 can be achieved usingboth a low code rate that utilizes repetition/duplication and a mappingof the modulation symbols to blocks of resource elements distributed inthe frequency domain.

Another variation of the frequency stacking is to employ frequencyhopping when more than one OFDM symbol is used to transmit one datapacket for the first service. The frequency hopping allows the frequencydomain resources used in one OFDM symbol to be different from thefrequency domain resources in another OFDM symbol, and thus frequencydomain diversity can be achieved.

Another variation of frequency stacking incorporates spatial diversity.If, for example, M blocks of frequency domain resources are used totransmit the data for the first service, the precoding matrix used forone block of frequency domain resources is different from the precodingmatrix used for another block of frequency domain resources. Beamsweeping, in which different beams are used to transmit the same datafor the first service, can be used to achieve spatial diversity. Spatialdiversity, or beam sweeping more particularly, can be used in the timedomain as well by using more than one OFDM symbol to transmit the datafor the first service.

Returning again to FIG. 14, if the resource blocks of the second servicecannot accommodate two or more transmissions of the first service (“No”path out of decision step 1440), then the original transmission and therepetitions for the first service are aligned in time (step 1450)similar to the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 15 (and the other similarfigures) instead of frequency stacked. Once the alignment of theoriginal transmission and the repetition in the time/frequency domainhas been determined (step 1445 or 1450), the processor 815 determineswhether the size of the packet for the first service is fixed and known(step 1455). If the size of the packet is fixed and known (“Yes” pathout of decision step 1455), then the processor 815 can dynamicallyselect the MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme) for the first service(step 1460). The size of the packet for the first service may be fixedand known for certain alarm messages and/or state-information packetsfor feedback loops in control systems.

In LTE networks the MCS is selected based on the channel condition andthe resource blocks needed for the transmission of a certain transportblock size is then selected from a look-up table. Puncture bundlingemploying different coding for the original transmission of data for thefirst service and one of the repetitions is the equivalent of loweringthe coding rate. Further, the resource blocks assigned for puncturingmight be limited. Accordingly, the MCS can be determined based on thenumber of punctures. In one embodiment this can be achieved usingrate-matching that fully uses the available resources by selection of ahigher MCS index and/or a higher bundling number such that thereliability target for the transmission of data for the first servicecould be guaranteed to be as high as possible for a given radioresource. For example, if the error target is 10⁻⁶ and the current MCSindex setting has a BLER (BLock Error Ratio) target of 10⁻⁴, a bundlewith two transmissions (i.e., the original transmission and onerepetition) could be used to achieve the overall error target. If theavailable resource blocks cannot accommodate a bundle with twotransmissions using the current MCS, the MCS index can be increased inboth of the transmissions (e.g., to reach a BLER of 10^(−3,5)) such thatthe available resource blocks can accommodate a bundle with twotransmissions and eventually reach 10⁻⁷.

In another embodiment the BLER target (and consequently the MCS) isadjusted based on the number of punctures to efficiently use theresource blocks. For example, if the puncture bundle is limited to oneTTI for the second service and does not carry over into another TTI thenthe number of punctures in the TTI can be determined. If the errortarget is 10^(−x), where x can be any real number greater than or equalto zero (but typically a real number greater than 5), and there issufficient time for a bundle of y transmissions, where y is an integergreater than or equal to two, then the MCS can be selected to achieve aBLER target of 10^((−x/y)).

Returning again to FIG. 14, if the size of the packet for the firstservice is not fixed and unknown (“No” path out of decision step 1455),then the transmission for the first service is coded using a fixed MC(step 1465). Once the transmission for the first service is coded usingeither a dynamically selected one (step 1460) or a fixed MCS (step1465), the processor 815 of the transmitting node transmits the data forthe first service via transceiver 810 to the receiving node 850 (step1470).

FIG. 18 is a high-level flow diagram of an exemplary reception method inaccordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.Initially, the transceiver 855 of the receiving node 850 receives atransmission during a time period corresponding to a transmission ofdata for the second service and passes the transmission to the processor860 (step 1805). The transmission includes data for a first service anddata for a second service, wherein the data for the first servicerequires lower latency than the data for the second service. Theprocessor 860 then determines an arrangement of the data for the firstservice based on an indicator in the received transmission (step 1810).The indicator can be the Puncture Bundle Indicator discussed above,which can include any of the information discussed above as part of thisindicator. The processor 860 then attempts to decode the data for thefirst service based on the determined arrangement of data for the firstservice (step 1815).

In any of the embodiments above some aspects of the puncture bundle canbe preconfigured. For example, the start-slot, end-slot,start-mini-slot, end-mini-slot, number of repetitions, types ofrepetitions (i.e., identical or different coding between the repetitionsand the original data), combination of coding types for the original andrepetitions in an RVG, the number of punctured areas, size of thepunctured areas, deployment of the puncture bundle into the puncturedareas, and the like can be predefined based on, for example, the MCS(s),the transport block size of the first service, and the transport blocksize of the second service. For example, if the data for the first andsecond services have the same MCS and the size of the transport blocksof the first and second services are known, the puncture bundling can beperformed by having an original transmission of data for the firstservice in a predefined mini-slot of a slot, e.g., the second mini-slot,and the first and second repetition can be in the third and fourthmini-slot respectively. The slot can be composed of multiple mini-slots,for example 7 mini-slot, each mini-slot having two OFDM symbols. ThePuncture Bundle Indicator can be used to identify this configuration tothe receiving node. Alternatively or additionally, the receiving nodecan determine the punctured areas and the original and repetitions ofdata for the first service using a look-up table based on knownparameters, such as the size of the transport block for the secondservice. This preconfiguration does not change the normal operation thatuses a dedicated control region with information on the redundancyversion, which is required in each punctured area to ensure eachpuncture can be independently received by the receiving node 850.

Another preconfiguration can be to preconfigure the control and data forthe first service into separate areas of the TTI of the second service,an example of which is illustrated in FIG. 19. As illustrated, separatecontrol data for a number of receiving nodes 850 is included inpunctured control region 1905 and data for the first service for anumber of receiving nodes 850 can be included in a punctured user dataregion 1910. Regions 1905 and 1910 are be separated by a frequencyamount f, which can be larger or equal to zero but in any event ispreferably as small as possible. The control region can include, forexample, the Puncture Bundle Indicator, the identification of receivingnodes, the MCS, etc., whereas the data region only includes data for thefirst service. Thus, the data included in the punctured data region 1910can include both control data for the first service and user data forthe first service but does not include control data identifying theformatting, modulation, coding and/or location of the user data for thefirst service.

In one embodiment discussed above, the receiving node 850 transmits asingle HARQ feedback (i.e., ACK or NACK) for the puncture bundle, whichcovers both the original transmission and all repetitions. It was alsodescribed that when the receiving node 850 has successfully decoded thedata for the first service the receiving node 850 discards any remainingrepetitions. The discussion above did not address the particular timingof the HARQ feedback in this arrangement. The HARQ feedback can be senteither once the data for the first service has been successfully decodedor the feedback can be sent after receiving the last repetitioncorresponding to the original data of the first transmission. It shouldbe recognized the receiving node need not discard any of the repetitionand can employ the original transmission and all repetition in thedecoding of the data for the first service.

According to another embodiment the base station, which is atransmitting node, can provide an immediate uplink grant as soon asthere is an indication that decoding of the original data for the firstservice has failed. The immediate uplink grant can, for example, bescheduled after the last repetition of the original data for the firstservice. This, however, is not resource efficient because the delaybetween the base station transmitting the original puncture bundle andthe additional repetition, which would occur in a subsequent timeperiod, such as a subsequent TTI of the second service, may be too largeto satisfy the low latency requirements of the first service.

The methods of FIGS. 13, 14, and 18 can be combined with the methodsdescribed in FIGS. 9-12.

It should be recognized that exemplary embodiments can be employed inboth the uplink and downlink.

The discussion above refers to the first service as requiring lowerlatency than the second service. The first service could also requirehigher reliability than the second service and thus in some aspects thefirst service requires lower latency and higher reliability than thesecond service.

Although exemplary embodiments have been described with the data for thefirst service puncturing data for the second service, the bundlepuncturing of the present disclosure can also be employed where there isno puncturing. Further, although exemplary embodiments have beendescribed in which URLLC is the first service and MBB is the secondservice, the present disclosure is equally applicable to thetransmission of any type of low latency service and puncturing any othertype of service that does not have the same low latency requirements,such as massive Machine-Type Communication (mMTC), Multimedia BroadcastMulticast Services (MBMS), etc.

Although exemplary embodiments have been described with the time periodfor the transmission of the second service being a TTI, it should berecognized that a TTI may correspond to a subframe, a slot, or amini-slot, and thus the terms subframe, slot, or mini-slot can besubstituted for TTI in the discussion above.

Thus, the embodiments disclosed herein provide radio communicationsystems, devices and methods for enabling decoding of data for a firstservice having strict low latency requirements by including repetitionsin the transmission punctured with the originally transmitted data. Itshould be understood that this description is not intended to limit thedisclosure. On the contrary, the exemplary embodiments are intended tocover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which are included inthe spirit and scope of the disclosure. Further, in the detaileddescription of the exemplary embodiments, numerous specific details areset forth in order to provide a comprehensive understanding of thedisclosure. However, one skilled in the art would understand thatvarious embodiments might be practiced without such specific details.

Any appropriate steps, methods, or functions may be performed through acomputer program product that may, for example, be executed by thecomponents and equipment illustrated in one or more of the figuresabove. For example, memories 820 and 865 may comprise computer readablemeans on which computer programs can be stored. The computer program mayinclude instructions which cause the processor 815 and 860, respectively(and any operatively coupled entities and devices, such as transceivers810 and memory 820 and transceivers 855 and memory 865) to executemethods according to embodiments described herein. The computer programsand/or computer program products may thus provide means for performingany steps herein disclosed.

Any appropriate steps, methods, or functions may be performed throughone or more functional modules or circuits. Each functional module maycomprise software, computer programs, sub-routines, libraries, sourcecode, or any other form of executable instructions that are executed by,for example, a processor. In some embodiments, each functional modulemay be implemented in hardware and/or in software. For example, one ormore or all functional modules may be implemented by processors 815and/or 860, possibly in cooperation with memory 820 and/or 865.Processors 815 and/or 860 and memory 820 and/or 865 may thus be arrangedto allow processors 815 and/or 860 to fetch instructions from memories820 and/or 865 and execute the fetched instructions to allow therespective functional module to perform any steps or functions disclosedherein.

Although the features and elements of the present exemplary embodimentsare described in the embodiments in particular combinations, eachfeature or element can be used alone without the other features andelements of the embodiments or in various combinations with or withoutother features and elements disclosed herein. The methods or flowchartsprovided in the present application may be implemented in a computerprogram, software or firmware tangibly embodied in a computer-readablestorage medium for execution by a computer or a processor.

This written description uses examples of the subject matter disclosedto enable any person skilled in the art to practice the same, includingmaking and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporatedmethods. The scope of the subject matter is defined by the claims, andmay include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Suchother examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims.

1. A method implemented in a transmitting node, the method comprising:determining resources for data for a first service, wherein theresources for the data for the first service overlaps with the resourcesfor the data for a second service during a time period, wherein the datafor the first service includes an original set of data for the firstservice and at least one repetition of the original set of data for thefirst service; adjusting resources consumed by the data for the firstservice based on available transmission resources; and transmitting,during the time period, the data for the first service using theadjusted resources.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the adjusting ofresources consumed by the data for the first service compriseseliminating at least one of the at least one repetition.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein the adjusting of resources consumed by the data forthe first service comprises shortening a time duration occupied by arepetition.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein frequency hopping isapplied to the data for the first service.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein the frequency hopping is configured by a higher layer parameter.6. The method of claim 4, wherein the frequency hopping is deactivatedby a higher layer parameter.
 7. The method of claim 4, wherein aconfiguration of frequency hopping is carried by a field in a downlinkcontrol information of the first service.
 8. The method of claim 4,wherein at least one of the at least one repetition occupies differentfrequency domain resources than the frequency domain resources occupiedby the original set of data.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein theoriginal set of data for the first service includes control data anduser data, and the control data and user data are repeated as a set. 10.The method of claim 1, wherein the original set of data for the firstservice includes control data and user data, and only user data isrepeated.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing asignaling message separately from the transmission of the data for thefirst service, where the signaling message provides parameters for theat least one repetition.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein thesignaling message identifies a start and end of the data for the firstservice.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the signaling messageprovides a number of repetitions for the data for the first service. 14.The method of claim 1 further comprising: dynamically selecting amodulation and coding scheme from a set of modulation and codingschemes; and modulating and coding the data for the first service usingthe dynamically selected modulation and coding scheme.
 15. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the original set of data for the first service and oneof its repetitions are coded differently.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein different redundancy versions are applied to the original set ofdata and one of its repetition.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein theoriginal data for the first service and one or more repetitions of thedata for the first service are arranged adjacent to each other in timein the transmission.
 18. The method of claim 17, where there is zerotime gap between a pair of adjacent data.
 19. The method of claim 17,where there is non-zero time gap between a pair of the adjacent data.20. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting node is a first userequipment, and wherein a second user equipment transmits the data forthe second service, and wherein the resources for the data of the secondservice overlaps in time or frequency with the resources for the data ofthe first service.
 21. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmittingnode is a first user equipment that also transmits the data for thesecond service, where the resources for the data of the first serviceoverlaps in time or frequency with the resources for the data of thesecond service.
 22. The method of claim 1, wherein the first servicerequires higher reliability than the second service.
 23. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first service is an Ultra-Reliable Low LatencyCommunication (URLLC) service and the second service is a MobileBroadband (MBB) or enhanced MBB service.
 24. The method of claim 1,wherein the time period is composed of one or more of: a transmissiontime interval (TTI), a slot, or a mini-slot of the second service.
 25. Atransmitting node comprising a wireless interface and processingcircuitry configured for: determining resources for data for a firstservice, wherein the resources for the data for the first serviceoverlaps with the resources for the data for a second service during atime period, wherein the data for the first service includes an originalset of data for the first service and at least one repetition of theoriginal set of data for the first service; adjusting resources consumedby the data for the first service based on available transmissionresources; and transmitting, during the time period, the data for thefirst service using the adjusted resources.
 26. The transmitting node ofclaim 25, wherein the transmitting node is a first user equipment, andwherein a second user equipment transmits the data for the secondservice, and wherein the resources for the data of the second serviceoverlaps in time or frequency with the resources for the data of thefirst service.
 27. The transmitting node of claim 25, wherein thetransmitting node is a first user equipment that also transmits the datafor the second service, where the resources for the data of the firstservice overlaps in time or frequency with the resources for the data ofthe second service.